USA TODAY Education

March 22-26, 2010

mdubuc — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:28:26 +0000

The old saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” It’s a well-worn cliché, but more often than not, it’s true. Peruse today’s paper and find mentions of three products that are widely used. Next, using the Internet, encyclopedia or other resources, trace the product back to its roots and to the person generally credited with its invention. Does the above axiom hold true for each product? Explain why or why not. Finally, choose one of the products and produce a flow chart illustrating its path from invention to its current form. Include explanations for any transformations the product may have undergone.

March 15-19

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:54:10 +0000

This spring gas prices will probably head back up over $3. In some areas it may get as high as $3.25.With unemployment at an extremely high 9.7%, high gas prices may make it difficult for our already faltering economy to recover. With a partner, brainstorm ways that you can minimize the impact of the rising gas prices on your budget (i.e. consider ways you can cut costs in other areas and consider other forms of transportation besides a car).Then, look through USA TODAY and read about a person, organization or company that is also struggling due to the weak economy and/or rising prices. How could that company minimize the impact of the soft economy or the rising prices? With your partner, brainstorm a list. Compare lists with other groups and add to your list good ideas other groups had.

March 8-12, 2010

mdubuc — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:45:00 +0000

After years of harboring terrorists in the tribal areas along its border with Afghanistan, Pakistan is taking steps to help the U.S. fight the war on terror. Recently, the country has begun an offensive into al-Qaeda controlled tribal areas, arrested key Taliban officials and allowed the U.S. to use drones to strike areas where terrorists are hiding. Without Pakistan’s help, it is unlikely that the U.S. will win the war against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Turn to the World page in USA TODAY and read about an event happening in another foreign country. Then, with a partner, list three reasons why it is to the U.S.’s advantage to have a positive relationship with that nation. Finally, develop one strategy that the U.S. could use to improve its alliance with the country. Share your idea with peers.

Games and Art

mdubuc — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:52:31 +0000

Kids don’t listen to the news or read newspapers in middle school very often. It’s all video games, so, I asked them to create a game using USA TODAY articles. They have to develop a game board and use questions and answers for the articles they choose. Sort of a USA TODAY Trivial Pursuit. I also use the articles in art and have students draw a picture of what they think the article means.

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Examining Words in Context

mdubuc — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:46:55 +0000

Have students (in groups of 2-4) select an article and go on a scavenger hunt for "interesting" vocabulary words. Ask them to examine the article for author’s purpose and tone. Reexamine the words in context and note the denotative/connotative meaning of the words and how the use of those words reveal the author’s tone. Examine syntax and determine bias, logical fallacies or fairness of the article. Is the author successful in conveying his/her subject? Evaluate the article as a news item, human interest story, information source, opinion essay, etc. Can the students draw a graphic to rate the article on its effectiveness with regard to reaching a high school audience? Have students present their findings to the entire class.

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Financial Literacy Lessons

mdubuc — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:36:41 +0000

I utilized the financial literacy lessons as a research supplement to both economics and various math classes. The students enjoyed getting away from the "books" and participating in small groups to complete these lessons. Material was current information relating to what is happening in the world today and drew the students in more than the textbooks do. I spread the lessons out evenly through the course of the semester, and made them mandatory to their grades. Great supplements. Thank you.

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Boosting Reading Skills

mdubuc — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:32:27 +0000

I team teach with a special educator, and we use the USA TODAY frequently to increase reading comprehension and to boost independent reading. Recently, we used the paper as a means of teaching main and supporting ideas to students in our developmental English class. We use the ELMO (overhead projector) and have students guess what the main idea of the story is based on a headline, cutline, or photo. Then, we read the story and find supporting points and evidence. It’s been a great enrichment to our curriculum!v

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USA TODAY Newscasts

mdubuc — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:30:40 +0000

Right now, we are creating newscasts. Students are practicing their summarization skills to put together a newscast that will be televised in our class. If the newscasts really pan out, they will be broadcast to people in our school who are interested in watching them. The students build the sets, gather current information from USA TODAY, discuss the news of the day and start writing their summaries. After that, they practice reading their "scripts" to help with reading fluency.

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Teaching Business Education with USA TODAY

mdubuc — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:09:08 +0000

I teach secondary business education. I have found that USA TODAY’s education portal has not only articles/case studies that directly affect and reflect my subject area, but also curriculum in other core subjects I can apply in my lesson plans.For example, when we began a lesson regarding saving and budgeting, I directed my students’ attention to the article/activity "Scoring Points for your Financial Future." They were more receptive and interested in the lesson. At the end of the lesson, students recognized just how important it was to save and budget because we had our hands on real-life situations with concievable consequences good and/or bad.

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Students Role-Play USA TODAY Reporters

mdubuc — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:52:30 +0000

WOW! We receive the USA TODAY each Thursday. We always begin with the major headline on the front page and I ask why USA TODAY editors picked it. I have my middle school students read in depth one article of my choice and one of their selection. I also pick an article from each of the four sections to read aloud and discuss. It is amazing how kids in middle school enjoy reading aloud. There are often stumble and find words they do not know, so we always have a vocabulary lesson. I give a piece of candy to the one (or ones) who can relate definitions all the students can understand. One of our best activities is when students "pretend" they are the news reporter and give their opinion or a different point of view for a story. (Fact and opinion is really important in our testing each year. I try to make certain they know the difference and experience in their writing.) We also enjoy "around the world" where students have five to ten minutes to pick an article and read it- news must be from a country outside of the United States. Then we use a globe or world map to see how many places/ locations we have covered. Students are really aware this year of how many times those articles are about Iraq or Afganistan. We are getting ready to write letters to our president after looking at articles about possible changes from our government. Students will chose one change and create a friendly letter about why they agree or disagree. Writing about an article always enables my middle students to get their ideas down on a piece of notebook paper after reading the related article in USA TODAY. Our "quick writes" are a weekly required activity made much more fun by using the newspaper.

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